A youth sports blog written by Bob Cook. He's contributed to NBCSports.com, or MSNBC.com, if you prefer. He’s delivered sports commentaries for All Things Considered. For three years he wrote the weekly “Kick Out the Sports!” column for Flak Magazine.
Most importantly for this blog, Bob is a father of four who is in the throes of being a sports parent, a youth coach and a youth sports economy stimulator in an inner-ring suburb of Chicago. He reserves the right to change names to protect the innocent and the extremely, extremely guilty.
You can follow me at facebook.com/notgoingpro and twitter.com/notgoingpro. I'm endlessly fascinating.

I’m surprised the school stopped its fight. I presume Goose Creek and its legal team have figured their chances of getting another stay in court so they can keep playing wasn’t going to happen.

It’s disappointing the school didn’t bring the SCHSL back to court even without the promise of continuing to play, just to see if indeed a court might determine that in demonstrated special-needs cases, SCHSL rules might be trumped by federal disability laws, which was one of Goose Creek’s arguments. The student in question was mostly a benchwarmer whose presence, the school argued, mainly served to help troubled foster student straighten out his life.

As it fought the SCHSL, Goose Creek seemed genuinely interested in that student’s future, but I’m not so sure anymore after what Bowman reported from the school’s Nov. 20 news conference. First, Bowman reported that Goose Creek head football coach Chuck Reedy hinted he might quit because of the SCHSL. That seems rather petulant. Perhaps you can just chalk that up to frustration and emotion.

But, second, and the bigger issue, is that for all the talk about how this fight was about helping a kid who had never gotten any breaks, it seems Goose Creek’s talk about principle instantly faded the moment it realized it couldn’t legally win its way back into the football playoffs. There is a legitimate issue here about how a high school athletic association’s rules should contain clear, fair exceptions for special-needs students or unusual situations.

Why not pursue the legal case for the good of future student-athletes? Did the school’s lawyer say they would no longer work for free, as they did over the previous few weeks? Or was this case not really about principle and fairness after all? Whatever the reason, Goose Creek just lost the moral high ground with its decision to stop fighting, now that it can’t play football this season anymore.

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Unbelievable as a player from the1970 grad class i can’t believe what i’am hearing from GC quit rather than fight.yes it is about the kids but does that mean it was about the stars on the team and what they lost in this not about all kids who were lucky enough to play on a championship team.My son has suffered through a 2-8 season and you won’t see him crying…and Bluffton gets lucky they certainly don’t deserve a semis run…Come on Man….

The SCHSL was stubbornly determined to get Goose Creek out of the playoff once the school self-reported the “violation”. The deciding factor in the second meeting seemed to be that John Doe’s prior school erroneously categorized him as a senior even though he didn’t have enough credits to be a senior.

The lesson learned by all high schools in SC is to self-report nothing. Goose Creek reported on themselves before the complete facts were known. The complete facts indicate the student was NOT ineligible, and had they been known I’m confident Goose Creek would not have reported a violation as none had occurred. The SCHSL dug in it’s heels in forced Goose Creek to forfeit 10 games and get kicked out of the playoffs regardless of the complete facts of the case.

I did not attend K-12 school in SC and I have no friends or relatives that attend Goose Creek so I don’t have a dog in this fight.

How about blast the SCHSL instead of finding fault with (your interpretation of) the motives of Goose Creek High School.

Or maybe the lesson is to make sure you’ve gone over everyone’s record with a fine-toothed comb. Or if you’re going to fight on principle for the downtrodden, don’t quit that fight when you don’t immediately get what you want.

It was definitely about winning a championship, they just used John Doe to gain sympathy from the SCHL and the public in general, I cannot argue they were doing something good with the kid but they end up putting all the hardship under this kids shoulder and displaying all his life in public, it was not his fault it was the admistrative fault,they allowed him to play, no kid knows the rules, the coaches on the other side did know them, I feel bad for Goose Creek team but I feel worse for the way the manipulated the kid’s strugles in order to not get disqualified and win a game!

you are definitely incorrect with your statement. the whole situation was a clerical error that the school self reported with in an hour and a half of finding the error. Then they had to prove that Jon Doe was an eligible. The Clerical error stemmed from 5 yrs ago, and moved thru several different schools before it got to Goose Creek. The school had to defend the error, and the error just happened to be that the child was a special needs student, that happened to have a transcript from several school. yes we were in the playoff s for the championship. The SCHLS already decided that they were not going to rule in GCHS favor because they were mad.. you could see it in their faces at the appeal hearing Monday.. As a parent of one of the players.. I really think you need to read all of the articles before posting ones like you did..I Gchs had a blow out year.. and yes they are that good. and dont you think other schools are gonna think twice before they self report for a minor clerical error. We try to teach our kids intergity, honesty and self respect.. But look where it got our kids.. how do you think they are feeling right now.. .they have to constantly reassure the young man that it was not his fault… explain that one…

First of all, none of you know whether the school’s decision was based on legal advice. Secondly, how you can conclude that GC has lost the moral high ground is beyond me. I don’t know anybody on the team or connected with the program. Nevertheless, I think the criticism is unfair and unwarranted. You want to write about something, how about starting with the South Carolina High School League, which runs public school sports like a two-bit dictatorship. They thrive on and revel in these “procedural” rulings that construe everything according to will of feudal lord Jerome Singleton, the SCHSL director. They love to inflict pain and have been doing it for years. How did Singleton get that power and why is he not held accountable? Now there is a story!

You never considered the players in your column. As a mother of one of the players, I was glad to see that our situation had gained national attention with hopes that it would get the attention of someone who could help. But then after sitting in the hearing yesterday and seeing the board members faces, I knew before the attorney started talking that they had already made up their minds. They were mad because we took them to court, and they were out to make the team pay. The individual already feels bad, so why continue to drag this out.. The players are hurting, mentally tired, and do not wish to drag it out any longer. I am also a graduate of Goose Creek High class of 86, and I can tell you that they have acted in the interest of the children( they self reported and took it as far as they can).. There will be changes made, but it will not happen until the next legislative session starts. which will be too late for Goose Creek, but will hopefully put an oversight committe in place to monitor the SCHSL so this does not happen in the future..

I understand all of what you are saying regarding the clerical error and the disqualification was realy bad, the part that a lot of people didn’t like it the way they handled the information about the kid, it was about proving elegibility not about telling everybody why he was confined in the house or the mother’s history or saying that the team didn,t need him that he needed the team, how can you say something like that ? in front of the kid in front of everyone, that was not fair for this kid, it was not his fault, I really hope that after this Goose Creek keeps helping this kid after all that was done for adult errors and I agree with you NOT THE KIDS FAULT!!

Your wrong Mr Cook. You don’t know our Community. You don’t know anything about what our Hearts feel. Right now abused. That player who the Committee labeled as ineligible was done wrong along with the entire Football Team and the Goose Creek Community. That child is eligible. The Constitution was completely ignored by the Committee. Anyone in their right mind would clearly see this was cut and dry. With the SCHSL being Educators you would think Compassion and Common Sense would had set in. Unfortunately it didn’t. The ‘Good Ole’ Boy” system is still alive and kicking as you see it portrayed by the SCHSL Committee. Our Goose Creek Gators worked hard and deserve to be in the Playoffs. John Doe deserves progress as he was doing so along with our Gator Football Team. He was doing so thru being on the Team. Being on the Team was something bigger to this Child than what the Committee understood, they just didn’t “get it” The Committee didn’t care to hear about it, they ignored anything and everything said. Don’t you agree this may scar this Child even more? Again it’s very unfortunate the SCHSL have lost sight of why they became Educators to begin with. As a Fellow Alumni stated. There will never be a REAL 2012 High School Football State Champion Team. How can it be? Because the Best Team, our Goose Creek Gators, that NO ONE could beat was cheated at the chance. I hope whoever get’s there always wonders, “Could we had beat the unstoppable Goose Creek Gators!! They know the answer; NO. That’s why that Committee Voted so hatefully against our Team, they knew we would beat their teams. Mr Cook I suggest you get to know your story and the people involved in it before you write it. Sincerely, A PROUD GOOSE CREEK GATOR!!

Actually if you acted like a real reported and researched your article you would know that yes they have stopped fighting to get in the playoffs this year but they have not let the matter drop. They are continuing to fight for Jon Doe and other like him by changing the leadship, oversight and policies of the SCHSL. So next time please get all of your facts before making any assumptions cause after all when you assume you make and a$$ out of you and me. A PROUD GOOSE CREEK PARENT

Actually if you acted like a real reported and researched your article you would know that yes they have stopped fighting to get in the playoffs this year but they have not let the matter drop. They are continuing to fight for Jon Doe and other like him by changing the leadership, oversight and policies of the SCHSL. So next time please get all of your facts before making any assumptions cause after all when you assume you make and a$$ out of you and me. A PROUD GOOSE CREEK PARENT

To quote Goose Creek High School Principle Jimmy Husky “Everything is not cut and dry, sometimes you have to make a decision”. There are 65 other young men on this team, each one as important as the other. How dare you question the integrity of our Coach? How dare you question the reasons for this case not being pursued further? Do you have some magic ball that allows you the ability to see into the intent or motives of others? None of us knows what happened behind closed doors with the attorneys. Instead of questioning the motives of our team, our school, and our coach how about questioning the motives of the South Carolina High School League? THEY are the villains in this story, not Goose Creek High School or anyone associated with it. Kimberly White McCall GCHS Class of ’82 and DAMN PROUD TO BE A GOOSE CREEK GATOR!

Posting on behalf of a friend So I am seeing red. I’m not allowed to post on there be cause I work for the school but if my quote shows up on the article without mentioning my name no harm. ” How dare you sir? What makes you assume that we are not fighting? We are choosing to not hold up the other teams playing in these play off games. We are choosing to let ALL OF OUR PLAYERS get the mental rest they need. This decision was for All of these kids emotional well being. Have you considered that maybe this special needs child is embarrassed by a past he has worked so hard to move forward from and all of this talk and attention has brought up an ugly past he wish was a tv show than his real life? Just because we are not pursuing legal action any further doesn’t mean that we won’t DEMAND changes in SCHSL for future children. Or maybe this becomes a fight by his mother to take legal action to sue the SCHSL for violating his rights. That is not action the school can take. It is about so much more than championships. It is about ALL of the players. And future players.

Posting on behalf of a friend So I am seeing but if my quote shows up on the article without mentioning my name no harm. ” How dare you sir? What makes you assume that we are not fighting? We are choosing to not hold up the other teams playing in these play off games. We are choosing to let ALL OF OUR PLAYERS get the mental rest they need. This decision was for All of these kids emotional well being. Have you considered that maybe this special needs child is embarrassed by a past he has worked so hard to move forward from and all of this talk and attention has brought up an ugly past he wish was a tv show than his real life? Just because we are not pursuing legal action any further doesn’t mean that we won’t DEMAND changes in SCHSL for future children. Or maybe this becomes a fight by his mother to take legal action to sue the SCHSL for violating his rights. That is not action the school can take. It is about so much more than championships. It is about ALL of the players. And future players.

I live 300 miles away, and even I have seen videos, posts on facebook, and reports of the kids crying and pleading for everyone to just let it go, so they can get on with their lives. The kids are exhausted, frustrated, and this battle has taken too heavy a toll on them. Many in Goose Creek are saying if the school continues the fight, they are ignoring the desires and needs of the kids. Now, you are basically saying the opposite. It looks like Goose Creek has another “No Win” situation on it’s hands, in the court of public opinion, just as they had no chance of winning the hearts and minds of the SCHSL.

You’ve obviously not been following closely enough ~ the Coach played that student in the playoff game last week. Citing that the school stands by the fact that the student was indeed eligible, having not been to school the ’08-’09 term. There will be further fights, but at this point the officials at GCHS feel it’s unfair to the other schools to have games rescheduled/shuffled at the last minute and their own players not knowing what will happen one day to the next. Those young men have suffered enough heartbreak, and I am impressed that they are standing solidly by their team mate. I am in awe of the Coaches & Principal, they voiced at the hearing on Monday and again at the press conference today that they’d play the student again, even if they knew these were the consequences. That? Is caring about the welfare/future of a student & putting them first…

And as for going over the records with a fine tooth comb, reports have stated that the school did not receive all of the transcripts until well after school had started, and games had been played. By then, it was too late. think about it, Bob. It would have been so much easier for the coach to blow this kid off. It would have been so much easier for the coach to put him off the team from the very beginning, or just leave him on the “scout” team, never letting him dress for games. But the coach was trying to reach the kid, trying to make a positive impact in his life. The coach tries to let all the seniors play as much as possible, whether they deserve to be starters or not. The only way the coach could have avoided all this would be to have treated the kid as “disposable” from the very beginning. Our kids are not disposable, Mr. Cook. I cannot imagine how difficult this has been for that young man. he has suffered enough in his young life.

Dear Mr. Cook You should issue a formal apology ASAP to goose Creek High School, the players, staff, and community. Maybe next time you’ll keep your mouth shut until you have ALL THE FACTS! http://www.abcnews4.com/story/20157380/report-federal-lawsuit-filed-in-goose-creek-case

I won’t issue an apology, because it doesn’t appear that the lawsuit was filed by the school. The plaintiff is the student, whose name is redacted. If you’re wondering why a bankruptcy law firm (Moss & Attorneys) is the attorney on the case, my guess is it has something to do with one of the lawyers being a Goose Creek resident.

If the player wanted to file suit, why would he seek out a bankruptcy attorney? No, I think someone came to him. Someone who apparently couldn’t handle the basics of serving paperwork to the sued party, which is why the case already has been dismissed, according to the Charleston newspaper.

I mean, I would understand if you did it to agitate people like some columnists do (taking the awkward, but different view just to stoke the fires or just to be different and make a name for yourself).

But if you really believe what you wrote, you seem to be a troubled individual and you seem to display the characteristics of someone who has little, if any, concept of moral issues (the SCHSL, in essence, was asked to judge the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law. In a nutshell, they failed and had issues with people basically telling them that they did).

Or, if you really believe what you wrote (like all that about pursuing the case for the good of the student), then why not hold the SCHSL accountable, too? I mean, they didn’t uphold their duty to judge the situation, understand it for what it was worth, and say no intentional wrong had been done.

Remember, we have laws or rules to prohibit bad motives. Laws or rules aren’t constructed to punish good motives. All they had to do was see that the spirit of the law was not broken and this wouldn’t even be a case.

Since you’re playing judge and jury, I thought I would, too. And since you’re playing judge and jury, why not hold the SCHSL’s feet to the fire and question their motives in their ruling against a player who played 17 plays the entire season? And, the sad part is, that the SCHSL knew that and had to power to say, “No intentional harm was done” That’s why we have appeals. To protect the good will or good motives of people.

The SCHSL should be at least called out for having a lack of common sense or maybe just a lack of heart.

In this situation, I’m reminded of something Yankees Billy Martin manager said during the hubbub over the famed 1983 Pine Tar game, the one where an umpire disallowed a home run after Martin pointed out George Brett’s bat contained too much pine tar. After the American League president overruled his umpire and allowed the home run, invoking “the spirit of the rules,” Martin said the rule book was “only good when you go deer hunting and run out of toilet paper.” I’m going to guess the good folks in Conway, tossed out of the playoffs after Goose Creek got a judge to allow it back in, are feeling similarly to Billy Martin.

Look, it would have been great for the SCHSL up front to say no harm, no foul. But if it did, every school that had ever been booted for using an ineligible player, particularly those who barely played, would have been storming the offices. And not unfairly. Also, if it did, what happens the next time this situation comes up? What if the player hadn’t been on the field only 17 times? I keep seeing this repeated as a justification to make an exception, but is the SCHSL supposed to weigh how good a player someone is when it makes a decision? The SCHSL has to think about the next ruling when it makes a ruling.

The reason the rules are as they are is because the member schools, including Goose Creek, believed they are the best means of ensuring fair competition with actual student-athletes. That’s why the upset at the NCAA is often misplaced — the NCAA is its member schools. If Goose Creek doesn’t like the rules, it should push to make sure they are changed. There are ways to get kids with special needs or extraordinary circumstances to be a part of the team when they might not be otherwise. Or perhaps to create a system where there are scales of punishment, rather than merely forfeits and expulsions. It is unfortunate how things played out, but all you Goose Creek folks, let me ask you this: Would the Goose Creek people feel the same way if, say, the Bluffton coach and school were in the same position, trying to do the same thing Goose Creek did in the last few weeks? Or would you all be saying, well, rules are rules?

Goose Creek lost the case against the SCHSL and now have to pay about $10,000 in fines and expenses for the hearing, etc. The more they fought, the higher the potential expense. The school has NOT stopped their fight for change in the SCHSL, they are just going about it in a different manner – going to our state legislators and working with other schools for rule changes to make it less of a black and white issue.

Unfortunately, for some reason, the board decided to penalize honest reporting, which is going to make it less likely that other schools will self-report issues in the future.